Lake Biwa 琵琶湖
Lake Biwa is an ancient tectonic lake and a Class A river in Japan. It is a Ramsar site and is one of the 115 sights of Japan listed on this website, ranking 23rd among the country's sights for English Wikipedia lookups.
Planning a visit
The weather is warmest in August, with daily highs reaching 30 °C and lows of 23 °C. July is the wettest month with about 228 mm of rain. For cooler temperatures, visit in November when daily highs are around 15 °C, or in January when highs are about 7 °C.
Lake Biwa is located 331 km from Tokyo. The nearest airports are Nagoya Airport / JASDF Komaki Air Base, which is 77 km away, and Osaka Itami International Airport, located 79 km from the lake. Travelers can combine a visit to the lake with trips to nearby sites such as Azuchi Castle, which is 12.3 km away, or Hikone Castle, 15.8 km away. Other nearby locations include Enryaku-ji and Mount Hiei, both about 30 km from the lake, as well as Ginkaku-ji, which is 36.1 km away.
Weather by month
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 31 °C. The wettest is July, with about 228 mm of rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high, °C | 7 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 29 | 31 | 26 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| Average low, °C | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 3 |
| Rainfall, mm | 130 | 114 | 131 | 121 | 163 | 212 | 228 | 131 | 187 | 132 | 103 | 117 |
| Rainy days | 18 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 19 |
Temperatures and rainfall: 1981–2010 averages for this spot (4 km grid), from CHELSA. Rainy days: 2015–2024, NASA POWER.
